"Metropolitan Police" Computer Virus

[JamesW]

peter@video-xtra.com wrote:

> Has anyone else suffered from what seems to be known as the
> Metropolitan Police Virus?


The correct name is BUNDESPOLIZEI TROJAN. It originated in Germany a few years ago and was also prevalent in the Netherlands. There are 2 versions of it found in the UK, the Metropolitan Police translation that you have encountered and a Strathclyde Police version. Needless to say, neither police force would ever ask for money in a coercive way such as this. Obviously it is a crime to impersonate the police, but you need not bother reporting this to the Met as they are already well aware of it.

[peter@video-xtra.com]

Thanksall for the helpful suggestions.

I've been to the malwarebytes.org site and downloaded their "free" software. It's only for a trial period of 14days. The "full" version is $25 or so. Does anyone know of a longer free download? I don't want to have to remember to download a fresh trial every 2 weeks!

Thanks

Peter

[MegaTon]

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-A ... g=main;pop

Free edtion here.

[dimi]

Had this twice this year.First time I paid ?60 to have it removed. Second time I looked up Malwarebites and ran my computer in safe mode.... touch wood... it works fine!!! What a bunch of scumbags who come up with this thing. Luckily a family is a solicitor and said to me it was fake as it mentions "American legal jargon" such as Acts which is not part of English law.

[joe king]

Had something similar to that - I restarted computer in a different user account and searched for that crap that was starting up at windows logon.
I also disabled java, just by renaming folder.

I used Autoruns to see what was starting and running

Useful prog to disable unwanted bad boys.

Also useful is Process explorer -

Have created a spare 'clean' user account as backup.

[Simon]

download the free ad-aware at http://www.lavasoft.com/
start pc in safe mode and run this program.

[one eyed jack]

The biggest give away of this scam is that if you were looking at such material, they would send the boys around in full armed response regalia to kick your door in and arrest you

Or send the boys all tooled up with full arsenal if it was a terrorist site you were looking at

If they were dishing out fines for looking at kiddy porn I bet Gary Glitter wouldve signed up to the met with a monthly members account and we wouldve never heard about it

[Snappy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20724810

Trio arrested in Staffordshire over 'ransomware' scam

hree Britons have been arrested on suspicion of distributing malicious software known as "ransomware".

The program they are alleged to have used made victims believe their web browsing habits were being investigated by police.

The program stopped a PC working and displayed a warning message purportedly from the Metropolitan Police.

The message claimed illegal web use had been detected and demanded payment of a ?100 fine.

The warning page used logos from both the Metropolitan Police and the Police Central Crime e-Crime Unit (PCEU) to make it look more like an official warning notice.

"I remind all computer users that police do not use such a method to impose or enforce fines, so if you are confronted by such a page do not enter any of your details," said Det Insp Jason Tunn from the PCEU in a statement.

Instead of responding, said Det Insp Tunn, people should contact the police.

All three suspects, two men and a woman, are from Stoke-on-Trent and are accused of using the malicious code to defraud victims. All three are being held in custody at a Staffordshire police station.

So-called ransomware is becoming increasingly popular with cybercriminals and more usually works by preventing a computer starting up or encrypting important documents. People often fall victim by following a link to a booby-trapped website that installs the malicious program when they visit.

Earlier this month an Australian medical centre was hit by ransomware which encrypted patient records. The malicious hackers behind the program demanded 4,000 Australian dollars (?2,610) to release the records.